Better known as Atjazz, UK producer Martin Iveson has been creating soulful, genre-defying dance music for more than two decades. His latest release on his own Atjazz Record Company is named after a certain Indian brand of beer, but thankfully the title is where any similarity to a mass-produced product ends.

Spiritual, Afro-tinged atmospheres are the dish of the day here, with live percussion cooked up by Yoruba Records regular Gabrielle Poso. Polyrhythmic kalimba and conga loops underpin steadily building synths and a vocal sample which shimmers just above the groove. Both the original demo version and a more polished XL mix are included in the package.

It’s difficult to define exactly what happens when a truly great remixer lays their hands on a track. Yoruba’s resident man-of-mystery Afefe Iku provides the only alternative version here, and after listening it’s easy to see why the label didn’t bother to commission any more. Delicately teasing out all the emotion from the original parts, his light touches somehow manage to chart a course between the earth and the stars, allowing the listener all the space in between to dream, to dance, to exist.

This track is destined to provide more than a few transcendent “eyes closed” moments on the dance-floor, not to mention inner peace and tranquility when enjoyed alone on headphones.

October 2014 Reviews
Originally published in 5 Magazine’s October 2014 issuesubscribe in print or to our digital edition for as little as $0.99 per month.